A few days ago, Bank of Spain released its Financial Stability Report, one of its top publications. Coincidentally, this report came out on the same day Americans elected their new president.

The digital revolution is leading to an increased use of electronic payment instruments; however, cash is still used in 79% of retail payments. This note analyses the factors driving the use of cash for payments across EU countries classified in four categories: access to cash and banking products, degree of digitalisation, macroeconomic environment and cultural factors.